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AI can influence voters' minds. What does that mean for democracy? Thu, 04 Dec 2025 19:00:40 +0000 Voters change their opinions after interacting with an AI chatbot – but, encouragingly, it seems that AIs rely on facts to influence people

Why is AI making computers and games consoles more expensive? Thu, 04 Dec 2025 18:00:10 +0000 The AI industry consumes vast amounts of energy, fresh water and investor cash. Now it also needs memory chips - the same ones used in laptops, smartphones and games consoles

Volcano eruption may have led to the Black Death coming to Europe Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:00:04 +0000 Climate data and historical accounts suggest that crop failures in the 1340s prompted Italian officials to import grain from eastern Europe, and this may have carried in the plague bacterium

Cold-water swimming has benefits for the brain as well as the body Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:28:21 +0000 There is a growing body of research on the physical benefits of going for a dip in chilly water, but now researchers are starting to find that cold-water swimming may also be reshaping our brains for the better in lasting ways

Stop treating your pet like a fur baby – you're damaging its health Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Pet owners' increasing tendency to see their animals as children rather than dogs or cats can have dire consequences. Owners, and veterinarians, should be wary, warns Eddie Clutton

The six best science-fiction shows of 2025 Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 What were the year's top sci-fi shows? Andor and Severance are still up there, but our TV columnist Bethan Ackerley also has some unexpected tips to share

Where did I put it? Loss of vital crypto key voids election Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Feedback is entertained by the commotion at the International Association for Cryptologic Research's recent elections, where results could not be decrypted after an "honest but unfortunate human mistake"

Could the super-rich be cloning themselves? And why would they? Thu, 04 Dec 2025 06:30:02 +0000 Nearly three decades since the remarkable cloning of Dolly the sheep, it has all gone quiet on the human cloning front. Michael Le Page wonders what's happening behind the scenes

Tigers seem to be bouncing back in remote Sumatran jungle Thu, 04 Dec 2025 05:00:27 +0000 Camera traps in an area of the Leuser rainforest patrolled by NGOs spotted 17 tigers in 2023 and 18 Sumatran tigers in 2024, while surveys elsewhere on the island averaged seven

Incredible close-up of spider silk wins science photo prize Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:01:41 +0000 Duelling prairie chickens, a snake-mimicking moth and a once-a-year sunrise at the South Pole feature in the best images from the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition 2025

Experimental vaccine prevents dangerous allergic attack for a year Wed, 03 Dec 2025 19:00:37 +0000 By blocking a molecule that pushes the immune system into overdrive, a vaccine protects mice from life-threatening anaphylaxis

Dogs may make us more caring and sociable by changing our microbiome Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:00:45 +0000 We know that pets influence our microbiome, but scientists have now found that having a dog seems to change this ecosystem in a way that could boost our well-being

How deliberately giving people illnesses is supercharging medicine Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:00:41 +0000 The covid-19 pandemic opened the door to once-controversial human challenge trials. Now, volunteers are willingly catching norovirus and influenza to reveal how our immune systems really fight back

Planned satellite launches could ruin Hubble Space Telescope images Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:00:27 +0000 More than half a million satellites are planned to launch by the end of the 2030s, and simulations suggest they will have a severe impact on space-based astronomy

Forming moon may have taken three big impacts early in Earth’s history Wed, 03 Dec 2025 14:00:50 +0000 Conventionally, the moon is thought to have formed during one big impact, but a three-impact model might make more sense

Why quantum mechanics says the past isn’t real Tue, 02 Dec 2025 18:00:10 +0000 The famous double-slit experiment brings into question the very nature of matter. Its cousin, the quantum eraser experiment, makes us question the very existence of time – and how much we can manipulate it

Ancient human artefacts found near caves in Arabian desert Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:21:01 +0000 Today, the deserts of the Arabian peninsula are inhospitable – but 100,000 years ago, the area was full of animals and ancient humans

Black hole entropy hints at a surprising truth about our universe Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:00:29 +0000 Two clashing ideas about disorder inside black holes now point to the same strange conclusions, and it could reshape the foundations of how we think about space and time

Can viral relationship tests really tell you about your relationship? Tue, 02 Dec 2025 13:00:54 +0000 Is there any science to viral relationship tests like the bird test, the orange peel theory and the moon phase test? Emily Impett, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Toronto, has the answers

Asteroid Bennu carries all the ingredients for life as we know it Tue, 02 Dec 2025 10:00:12 +0000 We knew from prior analyses that a distant asteroid sampled in 2020 carried all but one of the molecules needed to kick-start life, and researchers have just found the missing ingredient: sugar

What would Russia's inability to launch crewed missions mean for ISS? Mon, 01 Dec 2025 20:00:58 +0000 Russia's only launch site capable of sending humans to orbit has suffered serious damage that may take two years to fix. Will NASA keep supporting the ISS without Russian involvement, or is this the end for the space station?

Coral reefs have fuelled severe global warming in Earth's past Mon, 01 Dec 2025 20:00:18 +0000 Over the past 250 million years, periods when coral reef growth has peaked have coincided with big rises in sea temperatures

We now have a greater understanding of how exercise slows cancer Mon, 01 Dec 2025 20:00:01 +0000 Tumour growth is reduced by exercise due to a shift in the body’s metabolism that means muscle cells outcompete cancer cells in the race to get sugar to grow

Man unexpectedly cured of HIV after stem cell transplant Mon, 01 Dec 2025 16:00:14 +0000 A handful of people with HIV have been cured after receiving HIV-resistant stem cells – but a man who received non-resistant stem cells is also now HIV-free

Cats can overcome fear of water to benefit from aquatic therapy Mon, 01 Dec 2025 12:05:28 +0000 Vets have developed a training protocol to help cats benefit from water-based rehabilitation therapies, in spite of their natural aversion to water

A sinister, deadly brain protein could reveal the origins of all life Mon, 01 Dec 2025 16:00:16 +0000 We have long struggled to determine how the first living organisms on Earth came together. Now, surprising evidence hints that poorly understood prions may have been the vital missing ingredient

The 12 best science fiction books of 2025 Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 From drowned worlds to virtual utopias via deep space, wild ideas abound in Emily H. Wilson's picks for her favourite sci-fi reads of the year

The best new science fiction books of December 2025 Mon, 01 Dec 2025 11:00:45 +0000 From a new collection of shorter fiction by Brandon Sanderson to Simon Stålenhag’s new work, via a Stranger Things novel, December’s new sci-fi features some compelling and intriguing offerings

Was a little-known culture in Bronze Age Turkey a major power? Mon, 01 Dec 2025 10:00:56 +0000 Archaeologists have gathered evidence from hundreds of Bronze Age sites in western Turkey that could be remnants of a civilisation that has been largely overlooked

COP30: The UN climate summits are no longer fit for purpose Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 The final COP30 agreement fails to even mention fossil fuels. Countries wanting to tackle climate change must not wait for the next meeting to take action

The quick and easy ways to stay fit this holiday season Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 A chaotic schedule over the holiday season often derails Grace Wade’s workout routine. But this year she has a plan…

A revolutionary way to map our bodies is helping cure deadly diseases Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:00:29 +0000 New tools that create ultra-precise maps of our tissues are transforming our ability to diagnose and cure once-fatal illnesses

The long-overlooked insects that could save our crops Tue, 25 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000 Hoverflies, often mistaken for bees and wasps, pollinate three quarters of our crops. Now we’re discovering we can train them to be even more efficient

A new understanding of causality could fix quantum theory’s fatal flaw Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:00:39 +0000 Quantum theory fails to explain how the reality we experience emerges from the world of particles. A new take on quantum cause and effect could bridge the gap

Ancient humans took two routes to Australia 60,000 years ago Fri, 28 Nov 2025 19:00:39 +0000 Scientists have long tried to uncover the perilous journey humans took to reach the ancient land mass that now makes up Australia. Now, a genetic study has edged us closer to understanding how and when they achieved this

Why Google’s custom AI chips are shaking up the tech industry Fri, 28 Nov 2025 16:00:11 +0000 Google is reportedly in talks to sell its tensor processing units – a type of computer chip specially designed for AI – to other tech companies, a move that could unsettle the dominant chip-maker Nvidia

Upheavals to the oral microbiome in pregnancy may be behind tooth loss Fri, 28 Nov 2025 13:00:45 +0000 Dental problems often arise or get worse during pregnancy, and a new study hints that rapid changes to the oral microbiome at this time could be at least partly to blame

Origin story of domestic cats rewritten by genetic analysis Thu, 27 Nov 2025 19:00:11 +0000 Domestic cats originated in North Africa and spread to Europe in the past 2000 years, according to DNA evidence, while in China a different species of cat lived alongside people much earlier

Africa’s forests are now emitting more CO2 than they absorb Fri, 28 Nov 2025 10:00:41 +0000 Logging and mining are destroying swathes of the Congo rainforest, with the result that African forests went from being a carbon sink to a carbon source in 2010 to 2017

Plastic can be programmed to have a lifespan of days, months or years Fri, 28 Nov 2025 10:00:10 +0000 Inspired by natural polymers like DNA, chemists have devised a way to engineer plastic so it breaks down when it is no longer needed, rather than polluting the environment

Our verdict on sci-fi novel Every Version of You: We (mostly) loved it Fri, 28 Nov 2025 09:47:19 +0000 New Scientist Book Club members share their thoughts on our November read, Grace Chan's Every Version of You

Read an extract from The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks Fri, 28 Nov 2025 09:40:54 +0000 The New Scientist Book Club is currently reading Iain M. Banks's classic sci-fi novel The Player of Games. In this extract, we meet protagonist Gurgeh for the first time

Why sci-fi novelist Iain M. Banks was an ‘astounding’ world-builder Fri, 28 Nov 2025 09:35:56 +0000 The New Scientist Book Club is currently reading the late Iain M. Banks’s Culture novel The Player of Games. Fellow science fiction author Bethany Jacobs reveals how his work inspired her

'Horrific and beautiful' whale rescue image wins photography prize Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:00:24 +0000 See some of the winning entries for this year's Oceania Photo Contest, including Miesa Grobbelaar's shot of a whale, which took the top prize

Supermassive dark matter stars may be lurking in the early universe Fri, 28 Nov 2025 06:00:50 +0000 Stars powered by dark matter instead of nuclear fusion could solve several mysteries of the early universe, and we may have spotted the first hints that they are real

Physicists have worked out a universal law for how objects shatter Thu, 27 Nov 2025 18:00:36 +0000 Whether it is a cube of sugar or a chunk of a mineral, a mathematical analysis can identify how many fragments of each size any brittle object will break into

Emergency response needed to prevent climate breakdown, warn experts Thu, 27 Nov 2025 17:39:43 +0000 Scientists sounded the alarm on the dire consequences of continued inaction at a briefing in London, warning that we could be heading for "unprecedented societal and ecological collapse"

Warming and droughts led to collapse of the Indus Valley Civilisation Thu, 27 Nov 2025 16:00:27 +0000 Hotter temperatures and a series of droughts in what is now Pakistan and India fragmented one of the world’s major early civilisations, providing a "warning shot" for today

Deadly fungus makes sick frogs jump far, possibly to find mates Thu, 27 Nov 2025 15:00:26 +0000 Chytrid fungus is a scourge to global amphibian populations, but before it kills some frogs, it can produce symptoms that may help the infected animals find mates and spread the fungus further

Why dark matter is still one of the biggest open problems in science Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 We can't see dark matter directly, so studying it pushes the boundaries of our creativity as scientists. How exciting, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Why memory manipulation could be one of humanity's healthiest ideas Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 It might sound like dystopian science fiction, but discovering how to reshape memories responsibly is helping us to heal the brain from within, says Steve Ramirez

The 13 best popular science books of 2025 Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Women's hidden extra work, positive tipping points and new thinking on autism – there's much to chew on in this year's best reads, says Liz Else

Monthly injection could replace daily steroid pills for severe asthma Wed, 26 Nov 2025 23:30:33 +0000 Daily steroid pills are often necessary for severe cases of asthma, but they raise the risk of several serious conditions. Now, scientists have shown that a monthly antibody injection can eliminate the need for the pills

Easter Island statues may have been built by small independent groups Wed, 26 Nov 2025 19:00:50 +0000 Mapping of the main quarry on Easter Island where giant statues were carved has uncovered evidence that the monuments may not have been created under the direction of a single chief

Pandas use tools to scratch thanks to a strange evolutionary quirk Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:25:12 +0000 Captive giant pandas have been seen breaking off twigs and bamboo pieces to scratch hard-to-reach spots, using a crude opposable thumb that other bears don’t have

Ancient human foot bones shed light on how two species coexisted Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:00:09 +0000 Scientists have finally assigned foot bones found in 2009 to an ancient human species, and the move suggests that different types of hominins lived close by in harmony

We might have just seen the first hints of dark matter Tue, 25 Nov 2025 23:00:49 +0000 Unexplained gamma ray radiation coming from the edge of the Milky Way galaxy could be produced by self-annihilating dark matter particles – but the idea requires further investigation

Your brain undergoes four dramatic periods of change from age 0 to 90 Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:29 +0000 Our brain wiring seems to undergo four major turning points at ages 9, 32, 66 and 83, which could influence our capacity to learn and our risk of certain conditions

We may need a fourth law of thermodynamics for living systems Tue, 25 Nov 2025 19:11:31 +0000 The laws of thermodynamics don't accurately account for the complex processes in living cells – do we need a new one to accurately measure the ways living systems are out of equilibrium?

Easily taxed grains were crucial to the birth of the first states Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:42 +0000 The cultivation of wheat, barley and maize, which are easily stored and taxed, seems to have led to the emergence of large societies, rather than agriculture generally

The science of swimming trunks – including tightness analysis Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Feedback dives into a new piece of research on the merits of swimming briefs or looser swimming shorts – and raises an eyebrow at its conclusion

Why is climate action stalling, not ramping up as Earth gets hotter? Mon, 24 Nov 2025 11:08:06 +0000 As the impact of global warming becomes more obvious, you might expect countries to step up climate action and preparation, but we’re seeing the opposite happen

Have we found a greener way to do deep-sea mining? Mon, 24 Nov 2025 12:15:54 +0000 There are widespread concerns that deep-sea mining for metals will damage fragile ecosystems. But if mining ever goes ahead, hydrogen plasma could shrink the carbon footprint of smelting the metal ores

Sperm's evolutionary origins go back before multicellular animals Mon, 24 Nov 2025 12:00:09 +0000 Analysis of the DNA and proteins of a range of animals has revealed that sperm’s molecular toolkit arose in our single-celled ancestors, perhaps more than a billion years ago

COP30 keeps climate cooperation alive but hanging by a thread Mon, 24 Nov 2025 11:02:55 +0000 The 194 countries still taking part in UN climate negotiations reaffirmed the Paris Agreement following the US withdrawal, even if they agreed on little else

How a new way of thinking about fat could transform your health Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Body fat, often reviled, is actually a vital organ that contributes to your health and well-being. It is time for us to stop vilifying fat and to start exploring how we can harness its power

Extinct animals in Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age make it a must-watch Sun, 23 Nov 2025 08:01:59 +0000 From woolly mammoths to giant sloths, via some lesser-known ice-age beasts like 'killer koalas', the visuals in this documentary are simply astounding

Is there any evidence that playing music to plants is beneficial? Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Botanist James Wong is constantly asked if he plays music to his army of plants. Time to put this notion to the test...

Why quasicrystals shouldn’t exist but are turning up in strange places Wed, 19 Nov 2025 16:00:35 +0000 Matter with “forbidden” symmetries was once thought to be confined to lab experiments, but is now being found in some of the world’s most extreme environments

Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe discuss their new spacebound album, Liminal Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe's album Liminal is being transmitted into space by Nobel laureate Robert Wilson. They give Chelsea Whyte the lowdown

The vital, overlooked role of body fat in shaping your health and mind Mon, 17 Nov 2025 16:00:22 +0000 The discovery that fat is a communicative organ with a role in everything from bone health to mood is forcing a rethink of how we view our bodies

Astronomers may have glimpsed evidence of the biggest stars ever seen Fri, 21 Nov 2025 16:19:29 +0000 The distant universe might be littered with supermassive stars between 1000 and 10,000 times the mass of the sun, which could solve a cosmic mystery about the origins of extremely large black holes

Undersea ‘storms’ are melting the ‘doomsday’ glacier’s ice shelf Fri, 21 Nov 2025 15:00:04 +0000 Spinning vortices of water trapped under the Thwaites glacier ice shelf account for 20 per cent of the ice melt. They’re expected to get worse as the world warms

Ancient tracks may record stampede of turtles disturbed by earthquake Fri, 21 Nov 2025 14:00:42 +0000 Around 1000 markings on a slab of rock that was once a seafloor during the Cretaceous period may have been made by sea turtle flippers and swiftly buried by an earthquake

Quantum computers need classical computing to be truly useful Fri, 21 Nov 2025 12:00:52 +0000 Conventional computing devices will play a crucial role in turning quantum computers into tools with real-world application

New Scientist recommends the Society of Wildlife Artists' annual expo Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

Common type of inflammatory bowel disease linked to toxic bacteria Thu, 20 Nov 2025 19:00:37 +0000 The discovery that a toxin made by bacteria found in dirty water might help trigger ulcerative colitis could lead to new treatments for this form of IBD

We’ve found an unexpected structure in the solar system’s Kuiper belt Wed, 19 Nov 2025 20:00:05 +0000 A newly discovered cluster of objects called the “inner kernel” of the Kuiper belt could teach us about the early history of the solar system – including the movement of Neptune

A fascinatingly grisly guide to replacing and repairing body parts Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Mary Roach's new book Replaceable You explores what we do when bits of our bodies break down or need switching out. It makes for a brilliant read – just beware the gory details, warns Carissa Wong

Moss spores survive and germinate after 283-day 'space walk' Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:00:07 +0000 Astronauts strapped moss spores to the outside of the International Space Station for nine months - and most of them survived the challenging experience

Mouse 'midwives' help their pregnant companions give birth Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:00:06 +0000 Scientists have observed mice helping each other when they encounter difficulties during birth, prompting a rethink of caregiving among rodents and other animals

Imagining a future where smart glasses allow 'AI slop' to be avoided Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 In the latest in our imagined history of inventions yet to come, Future Chronicles columnist Rowan Hooper reveals how an ingenious way to avoid being swamped by AI content was invented in the late 2020s

Daily pill could offer alternative to weight-loss injections Thu, 20 Nov 2025 11:45:18 +0000 Orforglipron, a GLP-1 drug taken as a pill, achieved positive results in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, although it seems less effective than injectable drugs

Cars are getting bigger. This is a problem for us and for the planet Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Sport utility vehicles and other larger cars are becoming more and more common, and this is dangerous for our health in many ways. But we have ways to counter "carspreading", says Anthony Laverty

Physics of light and magnetism rewritten after almost two centuries Wed, 19 Nov 2025 10:00:25 +0000 An experiment 180 years ago first demonstrated a connection between light and electromagnetism – but the link is deeper than we thought

Vanishing Y chromosomes could aid or worsen lung cancer outcomes Thu, 20 Nov 2025 09:00:56 +0000 The health impacts of men losing their Y chromosome from their cells are increasingly coming to light, with the loss playing a complicated role in the most common form of lung cancer

Who finds dad jokes funniest? The answer might not astonish you Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Feedback is delighted to discover that two academics have taken a scholarly interest in dad jokes, but is unsurprised by their key finding: the people who most enjoy dad jokes are dads

An ambitious look at quantum physics is fun – but overdoes it a little Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000 Attempts to describe quantum physics are rarely enjoyable, but Paul Davies' zeal in Quantum 2.0 sometimes steers too close to hype, finds Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Mosquito proboscis repurposed as a fine nozzle for 3D printing Wed, 19 Nov 2025 19:00:36 +0000 When engineers struggled to make 3D printer nozzles narrow enough for their needs, they turned to nature and found the proboscis of a female mosquito had exactly the properties they needed

Climate heating has reached even deepest parts of the Arctic Ocean Wed, 19 Nov 2025 19:00:17 +0000 The depths of the Arctic Ocean have warmed more than scientists expected. New research has placed the blame on warmer water from Greenland

Google's Gemini 3 model keeps the AI hype train going – for now Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:38:51 +0000 Google’s latest model reportedly beats its rivals in several benchmark tests, but issues with reliability mean concerns remain over a possible AI bubble

Quantum computers that recycle their qubits can limit errors Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:00:49 +0000 To make quantum computers more efficient and reliable, some of their basic components must be constantly reused – several quantum computer designs can now do just that

Kissing may have evolved in an ape ancestor 21 million years ago Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:57 +0000 Rather than being a recent cultural development, kissing may have been practised by other early humans like Neanderthals and our ape ancestors

Four-fifths of the world's population now live in urban areas Tue, 18 Nov 2025 17:30:13 +0000 A comprehensive UN report has found that cities and towns are home to 81 per cent of the world’s population, much more than previously thought

We can finally hear the long-hidden music of the Stone Age Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:00:21 +0000 Ancient rock art was meant to be heard as well as seen and now acoustic archaeologists are bringing the sounds of prehistoric rituals to life

Mathematicians say Google's AI tools are supercharging their research Tue, 18 Nov 2025 12:14:09 +0000 AlphaEvolve, an AI system created by Google DeepMind, is helping mathematicians do research at a scale that was previously impossible - even if it does occasionally "cheat" to find a solution

The forgotten women of quantum physics Fri, 14 Nov 2025 10:00:06 +0000 Physics has a reputation for being dominated by men, especially a century ago, as quantum physics was just being invented – but there have been so many women who helped shaped the field since its inception

What is cloud seeding and could it end the drought in Iran? Tue, 18 Nov 2025 10:19:28 +0000 Facing its worst drought in decades, Iran is attempting to stimulate rain by spreading seeding agents in clouds, but the technique is likely to have modest benefits at best

Vast Bronze Age city discovered in the plains of Kazakhstan Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:01:22 +0000 A major settlement in Central Asia called Semiyarka dating back to 1600 BC had houses, a big central building and even an industrial zone for producing copper and bronze

Ancient figurine may show sexual encounter between woman and goose Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:00:09 +0000 A 12,000-year-old clay sculpture found in Israel depicts a goose on the back of a woman, and archaeologists suggest it may be a depiction of an animistic mythological scene